Lewis Hamilton blames Ferrari pit wall for missed stop at Interlagos

Lewis Hamilton started 20th on the grid at Interlagos and finished a distant ninth, a result he described as "devastated" by in a social media post. The seven-time world champion gained 11 positions on the opening lap in wet conditions, acing the switch to slick tyres as the track dried out. He was running eighth when a sudden downpour hit with 10 laps remaining. Ferrari instructed him to box, but he missed the pit lane entrance and spun on the next lap as conditions worsened. This sequence of events left him behind team-mate Charles Leclerc, who also struggled with rear tyre problems during the opening stint.

Missing information from the pit wall

Hamilton claimed he lacked critical data from the pit wall during the final laps. His engineer, Santi, told him the rain would stay the same, leading Hamilton to believe his grip was sufficient. When instructed to box just before the pit lane, Hamilton was right behind Liam Lawson. "They didn’t say it’s raining more in the first half of the lap," the 41-year-old Briton told Sky Italy. "If I’d have known that I would have come in." Radio excerpts reveal a pattern of confusion throughout the race. Hamilton repeatedly asked for his position, with Santi initially admitting he did not know where the driver was relative to Lando Norris. Hamilton shot back, asking why Norris was ahead of him. Santi then told him to let Norris by, confirming they were P9. This exchange mirrors issues seen in Singapore and Baku earlier this season, where communication gaps or missed pit entries cost time. Robert Doornbos compared the pairing’s communication to Hamilton’s earlier problems with Riccardo Adami.

The situation is clearly a failure of execution. Hamilton stated, "It just lacked a little bit of information there." He apologized to the team for giving everything without the necessary pace. Leclerc admitted Lewis was much faster than him in the opening stages, so there was no point in fighting. Vasseur arranged a private meeting after tensions emerged in Mexico, describing the conversation as open and positive. However, track performance remained poor. Leclerc noted, "We’ve never been so strong in those conditions… But in the race, I think there are still plenty we need to understand." Ferrari faces a difficult weekend in Las Vegas, where low temperatures may expose similar weaknesses. Hamilton sits fourth in the standings on 261 points, trailing Kimi Antonelli’s 390. The team must answer whether Hamilton is getting the information he needs in the car before the next race.